When Two Paths Meet
by Elvenqueen Sarah
Summary: Sparks and insults fly when the volatile Sanzo group from Saiyuki & the fiery group from Orphen encounter each other in the forest. With Gojyo making passes at Cleao and the loud arguments that keep erupting between both groups, how long will it be before Sanzo takes a shot at someone?


**Author's Note: **This is the fifth of 9 stories I have written for Saiyuki over the years and which I have now decided to share for the first time online. The events in this story are my own thoughts on what would happen if the Sanzo group crossed paths with the Orphen group.

My inspiration for this was the thought of Sanzo and Orphen coming face to face with each other. They both are very headstrong leaders of their groups, have little patience with idiots, and David Matranga who voices the characters in the English dubbed versions of the animes made the characters so strong I just couldn't resist the thought of having them meet.

Please note there's no romantic pairing between any characters (although you might see something between Orphen and Cleao if you look very hard!).

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own the recognised characters mentioned in this story. The Sanzo group by right belong to **Kazuya Minekura**, creator of the Saiyuki manga series and the Orphen group by right belong to **Yoshinobu Akita**, creator of the Orphen manga series. However, the events that occur in this story and any miscellaneous characters are created from my own imagination. I am not making any profit out of this story.

**When Two Paths Meet**

"**He that leaves the highway for a short cut commonly goes about." - Ecclesiastes**

'Short cut! More like the pathway to hell if you ask me!'

The exasperated exclamation was followed by the ominous sounds of splintering wood accompanied by the protesting rustle of leaves and turning around the tall red-haired man's three companions watched in a mixture of amusement, impatience and disapproval as he reduced another branch to a pile of fire starters with a few well aimed blows.

'Was that really necessary Gojyo?'

The mild reproof from the green-eyed man bearing a small white dragon on his left shoulder managed to convey the impression that his normally even temper was fraying at the edges. However it seemed that his hot-tempered friend chose to disregard this fact and retorted irritably, 'don't even start Hakkai. We've been lost in this damn forest for the past three hours with no sign of this legendary short cut that moron back at the inn mentioned.'

Lashing out, Gojyo kicked the already broken branch furiously. 'Three hours in this nightmare with blasted trees attacking me in the face every two feet; that stupid monkey complaining he's hungry every five minutes –'

'Shut up Gojyo! If you're so good then why don't you use those antennas to find the way out of here!'

Heaving a deep sigh as the youngest member of the group engaged in a verbal exchange of insults with their aggravated companion, Hakkai began quietly, 'Goku, Gojyo, please –'

'Damn it, shut up both of you!'

Two loud cracks filled the air and at once all sounds of argument ceased.

Glaring at the two figures who were now clutching their heads in pain, the fourth member of the group, a golden-haired man in priest's robes, snapped irascibly, 'one more word and I won't be using the fan to shut you up!'

Significantly cowed by the blazing fury in the violet eyes flashing at them, Goku and Gojyo wisely remained mute as the incensed priest spun around and stalked away between the towering forest trees, his white robes quickly disappearing in the dark shadows.

'Holiest of monks, huh? That poor excuse for a priest is nothing but an ill tempered, frustrated, mean son of a –'

'Gojyo just leave it be, please,' Hakkai interrupted tiredly. 'You're not the only one who's feeling exasperated with our current situation and your fighting with Goku is just making things worse.'

For a moment it appeared that Hakkai's words would be the catalyst that finally broke Gojyo's last vestige of control, but then the redhead seemed to deflate and rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously he muttered a quiet apology.

Accepting his friend's expression of regret, Hakkai glanced around before focusing his attention on the place where Sanzo was last seen disappearing.

'It would appear that Goku's already left to join Sanzo,' he observed mildly, his face betraying no hint of surprise. 'I would suggest we do the same before we lose track of them.'

Grimacing slightly Gojyo remarked dryly, 'if that happened all we'd have to do is yell out "meatbuns" and that little monkey would find us in ten seconds flat.'

Chuckling lightly Hakkai commented without malice, 'yes, he certainly adheres to the principle of a happy stomach is a full stomach.'

Smirking, Gojyo followed as Hakkai led the way in the direction Sanzo and Goku had left. As they made their way through the forest they had only gone a short distance when they heard a familiar voice whine loudly, 'but Sanzo I'm hungry. '

Sharing twin looks of amusement, Hakkai and Gojyo continued in the direction the voice had come from whilst Sanzo's voice replied in obvious annoyance, 'we only ate a couple of hours ago you black hole, how could you possibly be hungry again so soon?'

'I didn't get a chance to finish my lunch and Gojyo kept stealin' things off my plate,' Goku complained pitifully and then, his voice adopting the wheedling tone that usually resulted in his guardian capitulating to his request, he asked plaintively, 'can't I have just a little one? Please?'

Pushing through a low hanging branch, Hakkai and Gojyo were just in time to see Sanzo, who was standing next to his beseeching ward at the edge of a wide clearing, release a pent up breath in a long drawn out sigh before reaching into his robes with a muttered, 'fine.'

Withdrawing his hand again Sanzo held it out toward Goku who eagerly accepted the sweet scented peach with a cheerful word of thanks.

'Whatever,' Sanzo responded, pinching the bridge of his nose wearily, 'just be quiet while you eat it.'

Directing a bright smile toward his benefactor Goku bit into the delicious fruit and chewed the mouthful contentedly.

Watching their two companions in silence, Hakkai and Gojyo saw the cold, aloof expression fade slightly from Sanzo's eyes as he gazed at his ward and a small muscle twitched at the corner of his mouth.

'You know Sanzo you shouldn't spoil the little brat so much,' Gojyo advised sagely as he stepped forward, his keen eyes not missing the immediate transformation on Sanzo's face as it reverted back to its normal implacable appearance.

'When I want your moronic advice, which will be never, I'll ask for it,' Sanzo retorted icily.

Before another argument erupted between the two most volatile members of the group a piercing, shrill scream rent the air.

'What the –?' Gazing around sharply Goku's golden eyes widened. 'Did you guys hear that?'

'Of course we heard it you dumb ape,' Gojyo growled, delivering one hard slap to the back of Goku's head. 'We're not deaf.'

'It sounded like it came from that direction,' Hakkai declared, pointing to the eastern side of the clearing.

As though to confirm his statement another scream rang out, only this time it sounded nearer and then before any of the group had time to move an irate, blonde-haired girl dressed in a yellow shirt with blue jeans encasing her long legs, stormed into the clearing and emitting another scream of vexation she aimed a deadly foot toward a fallen branch on the ground and kicked it viciously into the air.

'I'll show that two-bit sorcerer how useless I can be,' she cried angrily, apparently oblivious to the audience watching her in bemused silence. 'How dare he say that to me! After everything I've done to help him! First with Azalie, stupid dragon lady, then with that green haired ancient beast thing that tried to turn him into a little wizard doll and all without a "thank you Cleao" or even a nice stay a hot spring resort! And he calls _me_ selfish! I'm the one that has to put up with his mood swings and his childish behaviour when something doesn't go his way. Sometimes I just wish that idiot troll Volcan would actually manage to –'

Breaking off suddenly the blonde fury unexpectedly sank to the ground and drawing her knees toward her chest she wrapped her arms about her legs and dropped her head dejectedly.

'No I don't,' she mumbled quietly. 'He certainly makes me mad but I don't really want him dead. It's just that he's so...LEKI!'

The distressed cry startled the girl's audience and the next instant a blue streak broke into the clearing and raced over to the crouched figure. Whining softly, the blue ball of fur reached out a small paw tentatively and gently rested it against one slim foot.

Raising her head slightly the girl smiled ruefully and casting a regretful glance over her shoulder to where she had exited the surrounding forest she sighed loudly. 'He's so impossible sometimes,' she declared stridently. 'But then he can be nice occasionally and he does look out for me most of the time and...what is it Leki?'

Peering down at her pet the girl frowned as he growled warningly, his deep green eyes glowing menacingly at something to her left. Turning her head she jumped to her feet instantly upon catching sight of her silent witnesses and backing away several feet ordered imperiously, 'don't take one more step you perverts! So you thought you could creep up and take advantage of me did you? Well no one messes with Cleao Everlasting and gets away with it!'

Raising his hands placatingly, Hakkai attempted to soothe her outraged emotions. 'Excuse us Miss Everlasting, but we don't mean you any harm. We heard your scream and thought you were in trouble.'

'A likely story,' Cleao yelled furiously, her blue eyes sparkling with rage. 'I bet you've been following me and my friends haven't you! You probably know all about my family and plan to kidnap me and hold me to ransom don't you! Well, let me tell you, it'll take more than four weirdos like you lot to beat me!'

'I highly doubt they'd even want you near them Cleao,' a cool, indifferent voice stated from the edge of the surrounding trees. 'After all, who'd want to listen to all that screeching?'

'You!'

The vitriolic exclamation fairly dripped with anger as the girl spun around and glared at the newest participant in the altercation.

A young man of medium height, dark hair and brown eyes stood leaning against one of the trees with a nonchalant air and a tiny smirk on his face. His black attire was only relieved by the white edging on his vest and the red bandanna tied around his head. A silver medallion hung about his neck, the image that of a wide cross surmounted by a dragon.

'The symbol of the Tower of Fang.'

The quiet remark from Sanzo went unnoticed by his companions who were now watching the battle waging between the two strangers in obvious bewildered amusement.

'And I suppose you think you're so wonderful Mr I'm-an-egotistical-arrogant-poor-excuse-for-a-sorcerer-who-can't-even-say-sorry-to-my-friends!'

'At least I'm not a loud mouth, ignorant girl whose stupidity is only matched by her brainless babbling and constant whining!'

'I wish I'd never met you Orphen and I hope the next time you try to do a spell it backfires and blows you into tiny microscopic pieces that you couldn't find with a magnifying glass!'

'Idiot, you can't see microscopic things with a magnifying glass anyway, you need a microscope,' Orphen retorted exasperatedly. 'Honestly don't you know anything Cleao?'

'Why you...!' Clenching her fists tightly, Cleao speared her companion with a fiery glare before screaming deafeningly, 'fine, I've had it! You never stop insulting me and no matter what I do it's never good enough!'

'Master maybe you should just apologise.'

At the sound of another new voice Sanzo gave an impatient twitch of his robes and pulling out a packet of cigarettes he selected one and proceeded to light it as the new voice continued, 'after all Cleao was only trying to help back there and it's not her fault, well not entirely, that half the town got destroyed.'

'Stay out of this Majic, unless you'd like another demonstration of my blasting spell.'

The young boy that had joined the group in the clearing sighed heavily, and rubbing a hand through his short blonde hair muttered tiredly, 'okay fine, but don't blame me if she sticks Leki on you again.'

'Maybe it's just me, but do either of you see a resemblance between bandanna guy over there and our own bad tempered leader?'

Chuckling softly at Gojyo's deliberately provocative question, Hakkai replied with a small smile, 'there is a slight resemblance, however, I believe that by this stage our dear Sanzo would have demanded our immediate silence accompanied by a few warning shots to demonstrate the consequences that will be meted out should we fail to comply.'

'What do you think Goku?'

At Gojyo's query Goku's golden eyes turned from their contemplation of the scene in front of him and, clearly indicating that he hadn't been paying the least bit of attention to his companions' conversation, declared loudly, 'I wish they'd hurry up and finish arguing so we could go, I'm so hungry!'

'You stupid chimp don't you ever think of anything but your stomach!'

'I can't help it if I'm hungry and of course I think of other stuff!'

'Oh yeah, like what?'

'I think of...of beating Kougaiji when we see him again and...and I think of Sanzo and –'

'– and you're rude, ungrateful! You never even thanked me for helping you with McGregor, all you ever think about is yourself –'

'– admit it, you're just a dumb ape who can't think of anything important –'

'– you blame everyone else for your mistakes, just like that time when you caused an entire town to break into a riot because you couldn't admit that you –'

'– at least I'm not a perverted cockroach that can't even use his antennas to find us a way out of this forest –'

The two sets of arguments were blending into one enormous plethora of noise, the sound of which was increasing in volume steadily, much to the annoyance and irritation of a certain golden-haired priest whose headache was quickly developing into a major migraine.

'– eating a six course meal doesn't count as a useful talent Cleao –'

'– you're a perfect example that a creature can walk and talk with a brain the size of a walnut, monkey –'

'Damn it, SHUT UP!'

The infuriated yell was punctuated by several gunshots and in an instant all traces of argument vanished from the clearing as everyone turned to stare at Sanzo's glowering form, smoking pistol in his right hand, and whose golden hair seemed to radiate with righteous wrath.

'Seriously, the next person to open their mouth to utter anything remotely sounding like an inane remark will die a quick and painful death.' Violet eyes glaring menacingly at the two groups in front of him, Sanzo finally focused his attention on the two strangers who were gazing at him in almost comic disbelief. 'Even though I couldn't care less about whatever issues you two have between yourselves it's clear enough from what the girl was saying before that she likes you and obviously if you followed her here after she left your group it stands to reason that she must mean something to you, so just deal with it and quit whining.'

Directing his attention away from the two flushed faces in front of him to his own group, Sanzo eyed the two youngest members balefully before stating grimly, 'you two are seriously asking for it if you don't keep your mouths shut for the next couple of hours. Your idiocy combined is breathtaking.'

Replacing the burning cigarette between his lips and his pistol to its place inside his robes, Sanzo turned away and making his way over to a fallen log seated himself with a pointed sweep of his robes and then proceeded to ignore the people behind him.

'Um Master, Cleao, who are they?'

At Majic's puzzled question the heavy, tense silence that had fallen at Sanzo's outburst broke and walking forward slowly Hakkai smiled genially as he introduced their group. 'The young boy with the brown hair behind me is Son Goku, the tall redheaded one is Sha Gojyo, the little one on my shoulder is Hakuryu, I'm Cho Hakkai and the one over there is Priest Genjyo Sanzo.'

'Sanzo!'

At the startled exclamation all eyes turned towards the stunned Orphen who was staring fixedly at the seated figure who was now silently smoking his cigarette.

'Do you actually mean _he_ is one of the guardians of one of the five Tenchi Kaigen Scriptures?'

'Two scriptures actually,' Hakkai replied calmly, apparently unfazed by the young sorcerer's rather incredulous tone.

'Hello, anyone want to tell me what the heck is going on?' Glaring at the men in front of her, Cleao's thin eyebrows rose questioningly as she demanded, 'what on earth is a Tenti -Tenchee scripture thingy and why the fuss over blondie's name? I mean sure it sounds cute and all, kind of musical too actually, but –'

'They're called the Tenchi Kaigen Scriptures, Cleao,' Orphen informed her impatiently. 'And the name Sanzo is given to anyone chosen as the guardian of one them. There's a whole section in the Tower of Fang's library devoted to the subject, though most of the books were written based on individual theories and hypotheses as no one really knew that much about them except that there were five and that each one governed over different aspects of creation. I never thought that one day I'd actually get to see one in person. Master Childman told me when I was still a student that he'd met a Sanzo years ago, I think he called him Koumyou Sanzo.'

Jerking in surprise, Sanzo's unusual loss of composure went unnoticed as everyone continued to listen to Orphen's story.

'Childman came here to the east before he found Azalie and myself to see whether the rumours were true about the power contained in the scriptures. He finally found a Sanzo priest who was willing to speak to him about some of the mysteries surrounding them and although the priest couldn't divulge the exact details of the scriptures as apparently only a Sanzo is permitted to know them, he did find out that whilst the Tower of Fang with the amount of power at our command could possibly destroy a large city in one hit, if all five scriptures were brought together and their powers combined the results could be catastrophic on a massive scale.'

There was a moment's silence before Hakkai said mildly, 'I don't mean to be rude, but what exactly is the Tower of Fang? I have never come across that name in any of my books.'

Opening his mouth to reply Orphen was prevented from answering when an emotionless voice stated, 'it's a college of sorts founded over a millennia ago in the west and which to this date remains under the direction of a council of master sorcerers who train those with the gift of magical ability.'

Carefully stubbing out his cigarette under his boot, Sanzo turned around and, an inscrutable expression flickering in his eyes, admitted quietly to his astonished listeners, 'Koumyou Sanzo was the Sanzo priest who entrusted the Maten and Seiten Scriptures to me and I was introduced to your Master Childman when he visited Kinzan Temple.'

Pausing briefly Sanzo allowed his eyes to rest on each of the strangers before he remarked with studied deliberation, 'I had read that western people often kept unusual pets however I wouldn't have thought that they would go so far as to take a child of the wolven into their care.'

At his words both groups turned their gazes to the small blue wolf that was cautiously approaching a relatively indifferent Hakuryu who had just abandoned his position on Hakkai's shoulder and was settling down in the cool green grass.

'Oh, you can lay that one at Cleao's door,' Orphen informed him caustically, still smarting from that morning's encounter with the wolven cub's green-eyed, explosive glare. 'Any other sane person would've taken one look and left him alone but not our Cleao, no she has to bring the damn thing back out of the forest with us and then name it!'

Leaping immediately to the defensive Cleao shouted angrily, 'just because no animal in its right mind would want to come near you Orphen doesn't mean they'll want to avoid the rest of us. Leki loves me don't you Leki?' Her voice quietening down to a crooning sound of affection, Cleao smiled as the blue wolf barked happily before returning his attention to the small white dragon beside him.

'Sanzo I'm hungry!'

The loud, anguished groan drew everyone's attention to Goku's kneeling figure as he clutched at his growling stomach desperately.

'How long are we goin' to stay here talkin'?'

'Damn it monkey what did I say before!' In an instant the harsh crack of Sanzo's paperfan connecting with Goku's skull was resounding throughout the clearing. 'Can't you go for ten minutes without complaining?'

Peering up at his guardian with an injured air Goku began plaintively, 'but Sanzo –'

'Uh Sanzo?' Hakkai's placid voice halted any further whining from Goku as he suggested diplomatically, 'given our current location maybe it would be wise to have something to eat now rather than wait and risk being unable to break for a meal later.'

Drawing himself up to his full height Sanzo huffed slightly in annoyance before finally conceding with a muttered, 'fine, whatever.' Turning his back on the group once again, Sanzo proceeded to ignore everyone around him.

Smiling at the three people in front of him Hakkai asked pleasantly, 'would you like to join us? I'm sure we've got enough food to share.'

'Really!' A beaming, glowing smile from Cleao clearly showed that she was not at all adverse to the idea. 'I'd love to. It'd be nice to have some civilised conversation for a change while I'm eating.' Shooting a dark glance at her two companions her insinuation about their lack of prowess as dining conversationalists was obvious.

'Well it's not like anything you've got to say is exactly what people would call intelligent Cleao,' Orphen retorted, his brown eyes flashing dangerously.

'Unless you're someone who counts constant demands for hot springs and room service as intelligent,' Majic muttered.

'Oh Majic.' Cleao gave the young boy a saccharine sweet smile as she said with no small amount of vindictive satisfaction, 'thank you for offering to cook our meal for us, I don't know what we'd do without you.'

'Come on Cleao that's not fair,' Majic protested helplessly. 'I've cooked for both you and Master for the past week and neither of you has ever helped.'

Waving one hand negligently Cleao replied airily, 'well don't blame me, you know Orphen's forbidden me from going anywhere near the cooking pot.'

'But you could at least help prepare the ingredients,' Majic pointed out.

Deciding to ignore this reasonable argument Cleao instead withdrew a small yellow ball from her backpack and tossing it in her hands called out cheerfully, 'come on Leki, time to play.'

Hearing his mistress calling his name Leki looked toward her inquisitively, and upon seeing the bright yellow ball in her hands immediately left Hakuryu's side with a happy bark and raced over to where Cleao stood waiting. Patting her pet fondly on the head Cleao drew back her arm and launched the little ball across the clearing until it disappeared into the forest.

'Go get it Leki!'

With an obedient wag of his tail Leki disappeared into the forest in search of the missing toy, only to reappear almost instantly with the yellow ball in his mouth. Walking across to his mistress the blue wolven cub dropped the ball at her feet with deliberate care.

'Good boy Leki!' Picking up the small animal Cleao hugged him enthusiastically until he yelped in desperation. Loosening her grip slightly Cleao was surprised when another hand reached out to pat the wolven's small head. Turning her head, Cleao saw Goku's wide golden eyes staring into Leki's green ones with a curious mixture of fascination and wonder.

'He's beautiful!'

The quiet murmur caught the attention of Goku's companions and one by one they all fixed their eyes on Goku's awestruck countenance.

'He feels safe with you, he knows you won't leave him.'

Narrowing his eyes at his ward's surprising words, Sanzo watched carefully as Goku continued to pet the docile animal in Cleao's arms. A strange and silent mental exchange appeared to be occurring between the two children of the earth. Then,

'But he's frightened that he could hurt you.'

'Hey what's up with you monkey?' Gojyo's loud voice and the sensation of his fist connecting with Goku's head had the young teenager jumping in surprise. 'Gettin' all spaced out like that could cause problems you know. People might take your head for vacant space and try to build something on it.'

The connection between them shattered, both Leki and Goku glared at the intruding redhead, their expressions eerily similar.

'What the hell was that for Gojyo?' Goku shouted angrily as the young wolven growled threateningly. 'I was talkin' to Leki.'

'Actually, creeping everybody out was more like it stupid chimp,' Gojyo said lazily as he stared at the glowering face before him, smirking slightly as he saw a furious red blush spread across Goku's cheeks.

As yet another verbal battle broke out between the two members of his group Hakkai sighed quietly and turning around he smiled faintly at Majic who was resignedly unpacking ingredients from one of his packs.

'They tend to get like this quite a bit,' Hakkai admitted good naturedly. 'I find that the most effective way of dealing with them is to let them go for a while and then try to distract their attention.'

Nodding in understanding, Majic grimaced as he indicated his two companions. 'They're like that nearly all the time too. It gets a bit hard to ignore them sometimes. Most of the time I feel more like a babysitter than a sorcerer's apprentice.'

Laughing softly, Hakkai retrieved his own pack and began withdrawing an assortment of food items as he said with light mockery, 'however, I guess on the positive side just like children if you put food in front of them they tend to forget everything else.'

xxxxxxxxxxxx

'Hey monkey that's mine!'

'Get off Gojyo I saw it first!'

'Damn it Cleao, that spring roll was on my plate!'

'Oh, get over it sorcerer boy, you ate most of the chicken so it's only fair I get this!'

'Give that back you perverted cockroach!'

'Okay, here you go!'

'Eww gross! You licked it!'

Listening to the arguments in front of them Hakkai and Majic groaned. Since announcing the meal was ready there had been an unending battle between the people in front of them which was steadily increasing in volume. As the two silent observers watched, Gojyo slid across the ground next to Cleao and reaching out toward her plate he smiled charmingly as he asked smoothly, 'hey gorgeous, you don't mind sharing your noodles with me do you?'

The next instant the redhead was drawing back sharply to avoid a swinging punch aimed directly for his jaw. 'Beat it buster, no one touches my food!' Cleao snarled aggressively.

'Damn it, you're worse than that stupid monk with his cigarettes!'

'Whatever carrot-top, but at least I'm not – ORPHEN!' The loud screech rang piercingly through the air as the blonde girl glared at the dark-haired sorcerer who was contentedly munching on a pork dumpling. 'You low-down, rotten sorcerer! That was mine!'

'I didn't see your name written on it Cleao. Besides I do more work than you so therefore I should get to eat more than you!'

'Ha! Leki works harder than you, although that isn't too hard! You're such a lazy slob!'

'Gojyo give it back! It's the last one and you know they're my favourites!'

'Really, well reach for it monkey! Come on, good monkey! Jump!'

'You damn watersprite, just give it to me!'

'SHUT UP! Do you lot wanna die?'

Four sharp cracks suddenly echoed in the clearing and the next instant the four antagonists were doubled over and clutching their aching heads protectively. Towering over their crouched figures was an enraged Sanzo who brandished his paperfan menacingly, a scowl sitting heavily on his face as his violet eyes glittered fiercely.

'There's enough food there so stop your whining or the next weapon I use will end the fighting permanently.'

Turning his back on the now silent group, Sanzo stalked back to where he had left his bowl of rice and sitting down with an angry swirl of his robes he resumed eating his meal, apparently completely oblivious to the indignant expressions on two of the group's members' faces.

'Did he just hit Master and Cleao?'

The awed gasp had Hakkai glancing at the young boy beside him who was staring, first at his companions and then at Sanzo, in complete amazement with his mouth gaping open and his blue eyes widened to an impossible size.

'I never thought anyone would be brave enough to do that! Especially considering that they risked being blasted by one of Master's spells or Cleao sticking Leki onto them,' Majic finished dryly.

Smiling faintly, Hakkai informed him mildly, 'Sanzo, you'll find, isn't the type of person to be intimidated by threats of retaliation from anyone.'

Still gazing at Sanzo's back, Majic gave a short nod. 'He certainly doesn't look like he would either.'

Chuckling lightly, Hakkai had just opened his mouth to reply when a loud rustling came from inside the surrounding forest. Standing up swiftly Hakkai spun around just as a large gathering of demons burst through the trees and into the clearing.

'We finally found you Sanzo Party!'

The largest demon at the front of the intruding group laughed harshly in triumph before he commenced barking out orders to his accomplices who quickly spread out until their line encompassed the whole edge of the clearing. As the last demon fell into place the leader growled one final warning. 'Kill them all but remember, the Sutra must be undamaged!'

Observing the commotion before him with ill-concealed boredom, Sanzo slowly rose to his feet and glared menacingly at the approaching company of demons.

'You brainless morons never learn do you?' he declared coldly, the emotionless smile on his face somehow more chilling than any sneer. 'A line is always easier to target than a crowd.' A split second later a glint of silver flashed through the air and a series of gunshots rang out in sequence.

Observing the bodies of the demons as they fell to the ground in bloody silence, Hakkai stepped forward and, a gentle rebuking tone appearing in his voice, said softly, 'now, now Sanzo, if you take care of them all by yourself I don't think that's fair to the rest of us.' Smiling charmingly at a small group of demons near him Hakkai informed them pleasantly, 'you guys really need to be more discriminatory when deciding who you're going to attack. Honestly, we only defeated a bunch of your friends this morning.' A glowing ball of light suddenly launched itself from his hands and in an instant the four demons disintegrated into thin air.

'Nice work there Hakkai!' Leaping forward Gojyo pulled a stunned Cleao out of the way of a descending sword whilst summoning his shakujou with a swift sweep of his arm. Within moments the demon lay still on the ground, his sword laying forgotten beside him and his torso coated in blood from the wound inflicted by the deadly blade wielded by the redheaded half-demon.

'You okay down there?' Casting a quick glance at the girl beside him, Gojyo drew back slightly in surprise as he heard a growl issue from the blonde's throat.

'That jerk! No one ever gets away with treating me like that!' Spluttering in outrage Cleao tore herself from Gojyo's restraining grip and picking up a blue ball of fur that was crouched near her feet she stretched her arms forward and screamed loudly, 'LEKI!'

Goku, who had just summarily dispatched a handful of particularly vicious opponents, twisted around as an ominous feeling crept down his spine. Fixing his attention on the small blue form, Goku's eyes widened as he saw an eerie green aura building in the wolven's piercing eyes. Instinctively Goku launched himself away from the demons that still remained near him just as an enormous burst of energy erupted from Leki's direction.

The resulting explosion was nothing short of earth shattering.

Staring at the blackened ground and a section of obliterated forest Goku felt his mouth drop open before realisation dawned and spinning angrily toward Cleao he yelled indignantly, 'that could've got me you know!'

Opening her blue eyes in surprised innocence Cleao replied casually, 'oh, sorry about that. Leki can get very protective sometimes.'

'Quit standing around Cleao and get over there with Majic!' The commanding tone had the small group looking up to see Orphen floating above them as he sent a blasting spell toward some demons who were attempting to sneak up behind the sorcerer's young apprentice. 'I can put a protective shield over the two of you whilst I take care of this lot!'

'The two of us!' Cleao repeated shrilly, her moral conscience awakening. 'What about the others?'

Gojyo and Goku shared an astounded look at the girl's words. The very idea of them needing a protective shield against low level demon foot soldiers was laughable.

Seemingly of the same opinion, Orphen spared a brief glance for each member of the Sanzo Party before announcing dismissively, 'they're clearly more than capable of handling themselves in this situation which is more than can be said for you or Majic. Now get moving Cleao!'

'Fine!' Huffing loudly, Cleao stormed across the short distance between herself and Majic without a single backward glance. Watching her progress closely Orphen systematically picked off each and every demon that tried to approach her.

'Hey monkey, you know we could easily let him handle this for us,' Gojyo suggested with a smirk.

Goku appeared to ponder this for a moment before he shook his head and declared loudly, 'no way I'm lettin' someone else have all the fun!'

Sighing in mock regret Gojyo shifted his weight until he was standing in attack position. 'Guess you're right monkey!'

With perfectly synchronised timing the two companions leapt forward into the battle once more. Above them Orphen breathed a silent sigh of relief as Cleao finally reached Majic's side. 'I'm going to have to start charging their parents for all this protection work,' he muttered. 'This makes it the eighth time in less than a week!'

Raising his arms once again, Orphen's eyes began to glow brightly and pointing his hands toward his friends he shouted firmly, 'I call upon the elements of the earth and sky to shelter those loyal to me!'

A radiant golden beam shot out of Orphen's palms and headed directly to where Cleao and Majic were standing. As the ray of light reached them it suddenly splintered into a myriad of colours with each shimmering line expanding until an impenetrable and luminous sphere surrounded the two young teenagers inside.

'That should keep them safe for a while.' Orphen's muttered comment had barely passed his lips when loud angry cries of rage rang out before a whole new group of demons burst into the clearing.

'You will not escape this time Genjyo Sanzo! Lady Koushu will have that Sutra!'

'Tch, like I haven't heard that before!' Sanzo growled irritably as he quickly reloaded his pistol whilst ducking an attack from the side. 'You idiots are all the same!'

'Hey guys is it just me or do these guys seem a bit more co-ordinated in their attacks than usual?'

At Gojyo's question Hakkai barely hesitated before replying cheerfully, 'they certainly are putting up more of a fight! Although at this rate we'll never get out of this forest before nightfall.'

Hearing Hakkai's words Goku gave an audible groan. 'Hey Sanzo, can't you just use the scripture and get rid of them?'

Shooting off another round Sanzo calmly emptied the barrel before reloading once again. 'And why would I waste it on these vermin?' he asked curtly.

'Sanzo, come on! I don't want to stay out here all night!' Goku's whine increased in volume as he fended off another attack.

'Fine.' Releasing an exasperated breath, Sanzo slipped his pistol back under his robes and taking a small step forward he placed his hands together reverently, closed his eyes and began chanting beneath his breath.

'Good one Goku,' Gojyo called as he deflected another deadly blow.

Abruptly the sound of the priest's voice ceased.

Suddenly, violet eyes snapped open and without pausing Sanzo raised his arms commandingly and staring intently at the demons before him he intoned clearly, 'MAKAI TENJOU!'

A blazing light shone instantly as the holy sutra unfurled and increased to seemingly impossible lengths as it sought out the presence of evil and purified it in a golden burst of divine power.

As the sacred scripture destroyed the demons surrounding them, Cleao and Majic watched in gob-smacked awe at the raw power being displayed in front of their eyes.

'What did – what did he just do?' Cleao gasped, her voice high-pitched in shock. 'He like, destroyed them all in one go!'

'He must be incredibly powerful,' Majic stated, his eyes gleaming with excitement. 'He could even be more powerful than Master.'

'What was that Majic?'

The quiet, but deceptively mild, voice had shivers running down Majic's spine as he leapt to the side in horror before spinning around to look into a pair of narrowed brown eyes that were glaring down at him.

'M-Master!' Stammering Majic shied away from the intimidating form of his teacher. 'Um...I was j-just saying that h-he's powerful!'

'Oh really?' Orphen lifted one eyebrow quizzically. 'So you didn't say anything about a certain blondie over there being more powerful than me, your own master?'

Gulping nervously Majic took a cautious step back. 'O-Of course not, Master!'

'Oh get over it Majic!' Cleao waved one slim hand casually, apparently totally oblivious to the pleading look her blonde companion was shooting toward her. 'Who cares what you said? He's just jealous that he can't get rid of that many enemies in one shot aren't you, Orphen?'

'Shut up Cleao, I'm certainly not jealous of some guy that gets around in a dress and looks like a girl!' Orphen retorted furiously, blissfully ignorant of the deathly glare he was receiving from one irate priest. 'And I definitely am capable of producing magic strong enough to defeat that many in one go.'

'Yeah, whatever sorcerer boy.' Cleao turned away with a careless shrug. 'The closest you've ever gotten is blowing those two fat little trolls away and even that's not saying much! Now this guy,' turning around Cleao stared wide-eyed at Sanzo who was busy lighting another cigarette. 'This guy's amazing!'

'Amazing? Sanzo!' Snorting in disbelief Gojyo strolled up to Cleao and leaning down informed her in a stage whisper, 'you know he's not all that great! He's cold and downright sadistic most of the time. He's also really quick to lose his temper and he never has a nice word for anyone, not even to a lady. In fact, sometimes I think the whole priest thing is just a ruse so he won't look like a complete dork when all the women ignore him because he's such an ar–'

A series of gunshots rang out and with a yell Gojyo jumped back whilst casting a burning glare at the glowering priest who was wielding his silver pistol threateningly.

'If you're so eager to die, you damn cockroach, just utter one more word and I'll grant your wish!'

His whole body stiffening at Sanzo's words Gojyo clenched his fists angrily. 'Why you –'

'Now, now Gojyo, we don't want to cause any trouble for Miss Cleao here.' Hakkai's calm voice mercifully interrupted Gojyo's fiery retort. 'With you so close to her if Sanzo were to fire his gun now she might get hit by accident.'

'Damn it Hakkai, whose side are you on?'

'And just so you know, my bullets never miss their mark at this range.'

Responding to these statements with a small laugh Hakkai turned toward Cleao and smiled warmly. 'I apologise for my companions' behaviour,' he offered sincerely.

'Oh that's all right.' Apparently unfazed by the hostile interaction that had occurred in front of her Cleao pointed toward her own companions and said indifferently, 'those two have their moments too and with Orphen around you get used to near death experiences occurring nearly all the time.'

'NOOOOOOOO!'

The anguished wail interrupted any further conversation and everyone from the two parties spun around to stare at the distressed teenager kneeling on the ground and gazing disbelievingly at the sight in front of him.

Walking over to his ward, Sanzo peered down at him curiously. 'What's the matter Goku?'

Jerking his head up urgently Goku's golden eyes shone brightly as he declared desperately, 'all the food's destroyed, Sanzo!'

Twitching slightly, Sanzo gritted his teeth. 'Is that what all this fuss is about?' he demanded.

A frown creasing his forehead Goku groaned and grabbed his stomach. 'I'm still hungry!'

'Well you'll just have to deal with it until we get out of this forest,' Sanzo replied shortly and then winced as Goku whined loudly, 'but Sanzooooo!'

'That's enough! One more word and you won't get anything!'

Lapsing into disgruntled silence Goku crossed his arms and contented himself with shooting dark glances at his guardian. Ignoring this display of childish frustration, Sanzo cast a quick look at the sky overhead and stated, 'unless you'd all prefer to spend the night outside I suggest we get moving.'

Still smarting from his previous encounter with the priest, Gojyo scowled slightly and snapped sarcastically, 'and in which direction would you suggest, oh great and wise leader? In case you've forgotten we were lost for hours before we found this spot!'

'Oh we can help you!' Majic's voice cut in before Sanzo had time to fire off a retort at his companion. 'Master knows this great spell that can point you in the right direction and since we're all wanting to get out we could travel together.'

After a brief pause Hakkai was the first to break the silence. 'If your friends have no objection I'm sure we'd be only too happy to share company with you,' he said graciously.

'Hell, anything that helps to get us out of this place is welcome,' Gojyo agreed.

'I'm for anything that'll get us to food more quickly,' Goku declared with a wide grin, his depressed mood lifting immediately.

All three friends turned to look at their remaining companion.

Sanzo slowly breathed out a stream of cigarette smoke before muttering, 'do whatever you want.'

'Well, I don't mind if they come along,' Cleao's voice called out happily. 'And Orphen doesn't have a problem with helping them.' Turning around Cleao smiled cheerfully at her dark-haired friend. 'Do you, Orphen?'

Straightening to his fullest height, Orphen glared menacingly at his blonde and female counterpart. 'Now just a minute Cleao,' he started furiously. 'I'm not some philanthropic charity worker at your beck and call. If I choose to help anyone it'll be by my own decision, not yours understand?'

'Why you – you –' Spluttering indignantly, Cleao strode forward and poked Orphen pointedly in the chest. 'Stop being so selfish you heartless, poor excuse for a sorcerer! These guys need your help and you're going to help them or so help me I'll stick Leki on you again.'

'Just you try it Cleao and I'll pack you off home to your mother quicker than it takes Majic to find a new girlfriend.'

'Hey, what did I do?' Majic exclaimed in injured tones. Opening his mouth he was about to continue when a rustling sound behind his back had him turning around in time to see two small figures exiting the forest into the clearing. 'Hey what are you two doing here?'

Startled at their friend's words, Cleao and Orphen broke off their argument to stare in Majic's direction.

'What are you talking about Majic?' Orphen demanded. 'We've been here for a while now.'

Shaking his head Majic pointed toward the intruders. 'Not you, them!'

Swivelling around Cleao and Orphen looked to where Majic was pointing and then, upon catching sight of the small intruders, regarded them balefully.

'Volcan! Dortin! What the hell are you doing here?'

At the sound of Orphen's voice the black haired troll stormed forward. 'The great Lord Volcan doesn't have to answer to crude sorcerers such as you! I can go anywhere I like and seeing as how my servants didn't finish you off I guess I'll have to do it myself!'

His eyes gleaming dangerously Orphen murmured threateningly, 'your servants, Volcan?'

A tiny groan escaped from the bespectacled troll as he reached his brother's side. 'Volcan don't make this worse than it already is,' he warned, his voice high-pitched with nerves. Turning to face Orphen he informed him, 'we were in the forest and these guys came and asked if we knew where a group of four guys called the Sanzo Party were. I told them we didn't but then Volcan told them that he'd heard voices coming from this direction and sent them here.'

'Shut up Dortin!' A quick flash of a hand and the smaller troll fell backward to the ground.

'Well, well, well! So we've got you to thank for this mess Volcan?' Stepping forward Orphen grinned sadistically as he cracked his knuckles with anticipation. Seeing this Cleao and Majic each grabbed two members of the Sanzo group and quickly moved them back.

'Hey, what're you –?'

'Trust me, you don't want to be near this,' Majic whispered, cutting off Gojyo's question.

'And here I was thinking I wouldn't be able to practice this one today,' Orphen said conversationally. 'You guys really need to think more about the consequences of your actions.'

'Shut up bandanna boy! You shall suffer the wrath of the great Lord Volcan for such insolence!'

A glowing light was forming in Orphen's hands which Volcan was blithely ignoring. 'I was so hoping you'd say that Volcan!' Orphen smiled. With a final twist of his hands Orphen thrust them forward and shouted, 'rod of lightning, I summon thy power to descend and destroy!'

Instantly a fiery glow emitted from Orphen's palms and launched toward the two unfortunate trolls. Within a moment an explosion resounded throughout the area and a massive black cloud surrounded a large patch of the forest. When the smoky substance finally began to fade the group behind Orphen stared in disbelief at the scene in front of them.

Where once green, fresh foliage had grown in abundance was now a large, blackened crater and with no evidence of the two trolls.

'Hey, where'd they go?' Goku asked curiously.

Pointing disinterestedly Cleao answered, 'up there. Those fat little things are basically indestructible. Believe me, no matter how many times Orphen blasts them they still come back.'

Tilting their heads back everyone looked up and saw two specks growing more diminutive with each passing second.

'I'd say that's a record distance wouldn't you Majic?' Orphen commented proudly.

'It's certainly farther than last time,' Majic agreed.

His crimson eyes staring at the young sorcerer, Gojyo leant toward his friend. 'Hey Hakkai, does that kid remind you of someone?'

Smiling, Hakkai regarded the object of their attention for a moment before replying, 'now that you mention it, he does seem to have a lot in common with a certain golden haired friend of ours.'

Grinning, the two friends sent a furtive glance toward their "golden haired friend" who was currently trying to shoo away a curious Leki from his desperate attempts to catch the dangling edge of the black belt tied about the priest's waist.

'I said leave it alone!' Sanzo finally roared in frustration, his amethyst eyes flashing with a warning fire. Whipping around to face the small wolven cub he stared into Leki's green eyes for an infinitesimal second, his own eyes darkened to a deep, unearthly violet, the very sight of them causing all his companions to back away in uneasy surprise. When he next spoke Sanzo's voice was quieter but filled with cool authority. 'I do not tolerate rudeness or disobedience.'

After a moment Leki's head drooped slightly and his gaze fell to the ground as a small whimper of apology echoed in his throat. Hearing this Sanzo's face relaxed minutely and reaching out a gentle hand he placed it lightly on the cub's head. 'In the measurement of your race's years you're still but an infant and so have much to learn about things,' he said reflectively.

Perking his ears Leki lifted his head and slipping out his tiny pink tongue he gave Sanzo's wrist a soft lick. Despite an involuntary twitch at the unexpected touch Sanzo's mouth tilted slightly as a minuscule smile tugged at his lips. 'Yes, you're definitely as moronic and trusting as another child I happened across a few years ago,' he muttered dryly before he rose slowly from his crouched position and turned to face his companions, most of whom were staring at him in disbelief. Ignoring them all Sanzo looked toward Orphen and stated bluntly, 'are you going to show us the way out or not?'

The young sorcerer, who had been as shocked as the others when he had seen the unworldly glint in the priest's eyes, considered for a brief moment and then finally said, 'okay fine, but everyone will need to be quiet, especially you Cleao! The last time I tried to do this you kept screaming at Majic so loudly that I couldn't focus on any other sound to get my bearings.'

Without waiting to hear his female companion's response to his warning Orphen turned away and closing his eyes he whispered an unintelligible spell under his breath. The next second a shimmering blue ball of light appeared before him and a strange hush descended upon the air around the dark-haired sorcerer.

After a moment a high pitched ringing began to sound out before the blue light glimmered and slowly floated away from the group and toward the forest.

Finally opening his eyes Orphen looked at his fellow companions and smirked triumphantly. 'Level five, grade eight magic spell. Comes in handy when surrounded by dense fog or if you're visiting a strange city.'

'That is rather remarkable,' Hakkai admitted fascinated. 'How exactly does it work?'

'According to Rox Row, who, apart from being one of the greatest sorcerers to ever live, was also the foremost expert in the study of magic and its origins, the spell isolates in the caster's mind the location they are attempting to find and then by focusing on a single sound near them the caster enables this to be used by the spell as its point of reference and from there it creates a guiding light that will reveal the way to the destination being sought.' Directing his gaze to where the blue light was hovering at the edge of the forest, Orphen smiled in satisfaction as he announced, 'the light will only disappear once its task is fulfilled.'

'Hey, that's pretty cool!' Goku stared at the shimmering light in awe. 'It'd certainly make finding food a lot easier!'

_Thwack!_

Each member of the group cringed simultaneously at the sound of Sanzo's paperfan connecting with the young teenager's head.

'You damn monkey, can't you think of anything but that black hole of a stomach of yours?'

Huffing in exasperation Sanzo glared at his ward before he shoved the fan back inside his robes and with a swirl of silk turned and stalked away.

A brief silence descended on the group until, his crimson eyes gleaming with mischief, Gojyo twisted his head toward Orphen and asked innocently, 'I don't suppose you know a spell to cause goldilocks over there to become blind, deaf and dumb?'

xxxxxxxxxxxx

'This is it!'

Staring at the scene in front of them the members from both groups sighed a breath of relief at Orphen's cheerful words. The warm, soft glow of light spilling out of open windows in the small houses lining the narrow village streets, accompanied by the sounds of laughing and the clinking of dishes brought back a sense of normalcy to each of the weary travellers as they paused on the dusty track they had been following for the past half hour since exiting the forest.

'I don't know about you guys but I'm certainly looking forward to a hot bath and a comfortable bed for a change,' Cleao's voice stated determinedly.

'Funny, I was thinking exactly the same thing,' Gojyo replied smoothly, his charming smile once again appearing in a flash as he draped a casual arm around the girl's shoulders. 'Care to keep me company?'

The response to his blatant innuendo was swift and immediate.

A bullet narrowly missed the long strands of blood red hair as an extremely irate Sanzo condemned his companion's perverted nature and a hiss of pain was heard as a sharp, feminine elbow made contact with the half-demon's ribcage.

'Keep your hands to yourself buster or I'll be aiming somewhere lower next time,' Cleao warned him.

'You know a simple "no thanks" would have sufficed,' Gojyo managed between clenched teeth.

'You're lucky you know,' Orphen's voice said with pseudo-tranquillity. 'Any other day and you'd have been on the receiving end of one of Leki's attacks!'

Glancing at the young sorcerer Hakkai was not surprised to see a fiery glint at the back of the brown eyes. Clearly, the boy didn't appreciate having to witness the sight of another man making advances toward his friend.

Deciding to intervene before the situation got any worse, Hakkai's face assumed a grateful expression and with a gentle smile he calmly interrupted with, 'we're very much obliged to you for your assistance, however, I believe it's time we were on our way now, we have an early start tomorrow morning and we will need to restock our supplies before we depart.'

A fleeting look of disappointment flashed across Majic's face at Hakkai's words. Obviously the young apprentice had quite enjoyed having someone with whom he could have a normal conversation. Finally he nodded resignedly. 'I hope we can all meet up again in the near future,' he said eagerly. 'It's been great meeting you guys and I'd love to learn more about these techniques you use.'

'Hey, yeah, that'd be great,' Goku joined in excitedly. 'And then you can show us some more of your stuff!'

'Don't think I'd care to,' Gojyo muttered as he rubbed a cautious hand over the spot where Cleao's elbow had left a rather painful bruise. 'I believe I've felt enough of their talents.'

As the younger members of both groups said their goodbyes the two leaders stood slightly apart from the rest of their companions.

Orphen was the first to speak.

'Priest Sanzo, although we've only just met I think I can understand more fully now why Master Childman was so impressed with your Master when he met him, especially if he was anything like you. The power you have in your care must be both an enormous burden and temptation but yet you have not succumbed to the lust for power that many would have fallen into and for that alone I must admire you. I'm sorry I can't discuss the subject of the scriptures with you in greater depth but maybe we'll have a chance to do so again in the future.'

Contemplating the sorcerer before him in silence Sanzo's mouth gradually relaxed until he permitted a tiny softening to appear at the corner of his lips. 'If you're that interested then I might be willing to endure a question session, just so long as the questions aren't totally inane. I get enough of that from those two morons.' With a jerk of his thumb Sanzo indicated to the two youngest members of his group. Then, his face once again assuming its cold mask, Sanzo began to walk toward the outskirts of the small town without once sparing a single glance at the group behind him.

As the white robed figure moved slowly away Cleao and Goku broke off their hurried goodbyes and staring at the straight back of the priest both their faces split into wide grins.

'You know, for all his grumpy moods and shooting fits I think I'd like to have him around whenever I'm in trouble,' Cleao commented bluntly.

Seeing Hakkai and Gojyo starting to follow Sanzo down the track Goku nodded vigorously. 'You certainly don't want to go against him, especially when he's angry,' he agreed knowingly. 'But regardless of what he says or does I know he'll always care about us and that's all that matters.'

With another cheerful smile Goku spun around and jogged after his departing friends leaving behind a thoughtful Cleao.

'Always care about you,' she murmured. 'Despite angry words and rather painful slaps to the head.' Pausing in her thoughts the young girl peered up at her dark haired companion and smiled secretly in amusement. 'A priest and a sorcerer. Different in some ways but identical in so many others.'


End file.
